This invention is concerned with a take-out mechanism for a glassware forming machine comprising a carrier movable in an arcuate path between a first position at which gripper members supported by the carrier can grip an article of glassware and a second position at which the gripper members can release the article on to a support, an arm on which the carrier is mounted, and moving means operable to turn the arm about a horizontal axis to move the carrier along the arcuate path.
In glassware container forming machines, articles of glassware are blow moulded at a blow moulding station of the machine and then required to be removed from the moulds and positioned on a support, known as a dead plate, before being transferred to a conveyor for removal from the machine. In order to remove the articles of glassware from the moulds and position them on the dead plate, the machine has a take-out mechanism which supports gripper members, sometimes known as tongs, which grip an article of glassware in the mould and release it on to the dead plate.
Conventionally, the moving means of a take-out mechanism comprises a gear fixed to the arm and mounted to turn about a horizontal axis, a rack meshed with said gear, and driving means operable to move the rack past the gear so that the gear and the arm are caused to turn about said axis, the driving means comprising a piston and cylinder assembly having a piston rod attached to the rack so that motion of the piston in the cylinder brings about motion of the rack past the gear. So as not to interfere with other parts of the glassware forming machine, the rack, the cylinder of the piston and cylinder assembly and the piston rod thereof extend vertically and, since the stroke of the piston is the same length as the rack, the whole mechanism extends for a considerable distance and is undesirably bulky.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a take-out mechanism for a glassware forming machine in which the moving means for the arm is considerably less bulky than in conventional mechanisms.